Federal unemployment benefits, Cobra subsidy extended for one month

President Obama late Tuesday signed a bill extending federal funding for unemployment benefits and the Cobra health care premium subsidy for one month.

Eligibility for both had expired after Feb. 28. Last week the House passed the one-month extension, but the bill got held up in the Senate by Jim Bunning, R-Ky, who wanted Congress to find a way to pay for the $10 billion package. Bunning relented on Tuesday, the Senate passed the bill and Obama quickly signed it.

As a result, workers who become involuntarily terminated no later than March 31 and remain in their former employer’s group health plan could be eligible for the Cobra subsidy, which pays 65 percent of the premium for up to 15 months.

Also, people who exhaust their regular state unemployment benefits by March 27 can start receiving the first of four tiers of federally funded unemployment benefits. People who are already receiving one of these four tiers must exhaust the tier they are receiving by April 3 to move on to the next tier, according to the California Employment Development Department.

The bill, H.R. 4691, also temporarily extends several other programs that were expiring.

The Senate will now consider a much larger bill that would, among other things, extend federal unemployment and Cobra benefits through the end of the year. That bill — the American Workers, State and Business Relief Act — includes about $150 billion in tax cuts and spending plans, of which $40 billion would be paid for.